Stardust
by The Mocking J
Summary: Luke and Aurora go stargazing... but wishes don't always come true. [Azran Legacy Spoilers]


**[[**_**This was meant to be an innocent Luke/Aurora oneshot for **__**Abitat Eco the Azran**_. _**But then it transformed into this angsty un-poetic... thing. **_

**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own the characters or any included Azran Legacy dialogue. Just my feels.**_

**Spoilers: **_**For AL.**_

**Set: **_**Mainly in Torrido, after the Bostonius crew have collected the Azran egg from there.**_**]]**

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><p><strong><span>Stardust<span> **

"_The Azran sanctuary has fulfilled its purpose. And so too, have I..."_

A nightmare?

During the eve before the Bostonius was bound to leave Torrido, Luke awoke in a coughing fit. His lungs were burning. His tongue felt like sandpaper. _Stupid dust. _After sitting up and assuring the half-alert Professor Layton that he wasn't s_uffocating, _Luke's hacking eventually subsided. The professor returned to dreamland, but Luke sighed, dragging his teary-eyes to the clock. _00:05. _

There was never a bad time for a midnight snack, according to Luke. But now more than ever he craved something sweet to expel the taste of dust from his dry, dry mouth. He slipped off the sofa- bed. Surely Raymond wouldn't mind if he grabbed a biscuit or three...?

However, on his way to the airship's miniature kitchen, he shivered and coughed again as there was a cool breeze. Turning, he saw— the ship's hatch was wide open! Luke gasped. Was someone sneaking on to the Bostonius? Instantly, he suspected that daft Targent duo who had tried (and so far, _failed_) to prevent them from collecting the Azran eggs. Perhaps Targent were resorting to more drastic plans.

Luke knew he should alert his friends immediately (namely Emmy so she could fight off the intruders) but his curiosity won out. How would the goons have gotten the door open without creating any noise? Holding his breath, he crept to the ship's entrance and slowly poked his head outside.

A slightly stooped figure was waiting on the metal air-stairs... _Phew_. It was just Raymond.

Hearing Luke's sigh of relief, the old pilot turned. "My apologises. Didne mean ta disturb ya. The yoong lass jist wanted some fresh air..." He pointed to the bottom of the steps where Aurora stood with her back to them, before the vast emptiness of sand. Luke thanked Raymond, and went down to speak to her.

"_I thank you all..."_

"What are you doing out here, Aurora?"

Luke had only whispered, yet Aurora was jarred from her trance. "Oh, Luke!" She suddenly looked at him; her eyes wide. Dewdrops in the desert.

_Dewdrop eyes turning to violets..._

Obviously, Luke had met people with blue eyes before, like his friend Arianna. But Arianna's eyes were darker, even _colder_ sometimes. Then there was that young girl they'd met on the island of Ambrosia, Nina: hers were the colour of the sea.

But Luke had never seen eyes such as Aurora's. Even when she wasn't possessed by the strange Azran power, her eyes were so bright and at the same time... so deep with the secrets of her lost civilisation. Luke wasn't a poet, but he'd heard Professor Sycamore (when the odd philosophical moment came to him) compare Aurora's irises to... What was it? 'A watery abyss ablaze with the sun's rays.'

_Her body, shining golden as the sun... _

When Luke realised he and Aurora had been staring at each other for the past minute, he cleared his throat. (The dust was even worse out here...) "Couldn't you sleep?"

Aurora's attention roamed to the sky once more. Luke followed her gaze, craning his neck all the way back. What by the light of day was an arid red land became, in the dark, a midnight tapestry adorned with stars.

"With my memories gradually returning, a growing sense of purpose fills me," Aurora murmured. "I thought that looking at the stars would help fathom my thoughts. But it's like when I first witnessed the ocean... I feel so very small, especially with the weight of the Azran Legacy on my shoulders. I... I am the last of my people. I cannot bear to fail them."

"_I am the last of the Azran golems. My body will soon cease to function..."_

Again, Luke was reminded of a similar occasion spent with Arianna. He smiled. "Looking at the stars can make you feel peaceful, too. It reminds you not to take things so seriously." Grasping what he had just said, he quickly amended, "S-sorry, I didn't mean that the Azran Legacy isn't important..."

Aurora chuckled, "I understand—" She gasped when something shot across the sky. "What is that? The sky... is it falling?"

"It's a _shooting star_," Luke beamed. "Quick, you have to make a wish on it!"

"Wishing on a star? Will it come true?"

"Only if you close your eyes tight and believe." Luke screwed his eyes shut. There were lots of things he wanted: a new hat, a lifetime supply of cake, to be able to fly, to own his own pet shop, to become a true gentleman like Professor Layton... But he decided to wish for Aurora.

"_No, stop— come with us!"_

Luke opened his eyes when he felt her take his hand.

_He sobs when he sees her hands dissolving. Like starlight, like stardust..._

She was smiling now. "What did you wish for?"

_Wishes don't always come true._


End file.
